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24 Oct 2004 - Quake aftershock hits north Japan
A powerful aftershock measuring 5.6 in magnitude has shaken Japan's northern Niigata region, two days after a tremor in the area left 24 people dead.
No fatalities were reported after the tremor, which could be felt in Tokyo, 200 kilometres (125 miles) away.
Some 24 people are reported to have died, and a number are still missing. Rescue efforts have been hampered by widespread power cuts, blocked roads and collapsed bridges.
Local hospitals say they have been overwhelmed by the number of casualties.
Thousands of people had spent a second night in emergency shelters or out in the open after the earthquakes.
Military helicopters have joined rescue efforts to reach isolated rural villages cut off by landslides.
The first quake on Saturday - the most powerful a magnitude 6.8 - was centered in the city of Ojiya, about 260 kilometers northwest of Tokyo. The tremors knocked a bullet train from its rails, ripped dramatic fissures through roadways and made buildings sway in the capital.
Two tunnels also collapsed along the Tokyo-Niigata highway.
Some 61,000 people were evacuated to emergency shelters, while others spent the night in cars.
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